Felling Trees
by Cassiana Rose
Summary: After rejecting Aang, Katara finds what she needed in the arms of Zuko. A little Zutara oneshot.


Hello! Random Zutara story for you here. This oneshot (which could, if needs be, become a two-shot) is based upon the two very short little pieces of the trailer for S3 in which Katara pushes Aang away from her, and the following shot where Katara hugs Zuko. It's weird, and may be sometimes nonsensical, but I hope you like it.

(P.S, just so as I can sleep safely tonight, I'd like everyone to make believe that Katara is 16, Zuko is 17 and Toph is 14. Thankyous)

* * *

_I really did love Aang. I did. But that's not the problem. The problem is that I didn't love him the way that he loved me, and I didn't love him as much as he loved me. I think his love for me was romantic, but mine for him was more sisterly, possibly even bordering on maternal. I didn't mean to break his heart. But I did, and I broke mine too. _

* * *

Katara grimaced slightly when she saw the look of pain that she had inflicted flit across his face. "I…"

She sighed, and took another step back from him. He had kissed her, and she had pushed him away lightly, something horrible and odd squeezing her chest too tight as she did so.

Guilt.

"I'm so sorry," she told him softly, her blue eyes sparkling with the tears she hadn't shed yet. "But I don't love you the way you love me."

He looked up at Katara, reminding her yet again of their age differences. "Why not?"

Katara winced at the childishness of his question. "Because-" she started. After a moment she realized that she didn't have an answer to his question. Why didn't she?

"I think of you as a brother. To me, you're someone I have to take care of, someone I look out for above myself. Not someone I can love in the way that you want me to."

The wind around them picked up slightly. "But I do love you," she said quickly, not wanting to go any further than she had to. "Just, more like a sister than a lover."

Aang turned his blue eyes to her, before he slammed the end of his glider on the ground and was off in a minute, soaring out of sight so quickly he was just a blur.

Katara turned and fled, desperate to be out of the biting wind that kept telling her she was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Aang." She turned to run, fleeing towards the communal fire.

Sokka wasn't quite sleeping, and he wasn't quite awake. He was aware that Toph was bending small rocks around to make a sort of pillow for herself, and Haru was doing to the same on the other side of the fire, while Teo was entertaining The Duke, trying to keep the child occupied. He didn't really care where Zuko was, but he was probably off Firebending.

He started when he felt something warm and fluffy collide with his head, reaching back for his boomerang as his eyes flew open.

"Momo," he groaned as, instead of finding his boomerang, he instead wrapped his hand around the flying lemur's furred leg. Momo squeaked in response, and took off before he could do anything else.

He watched the lemur blearily as he flew over the fire and landed on someone, who shook him off in annoyance.

"Leave me alone, Momo," Katara said from the other side of their shelter, moving into view around the fire towards her brother.

"What's wrong with you, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked as she patted down her little pile of earth, before she dropped back onto it.

Katara didn't answer for a moment, feeling the sudden sting of tears in her eyes for the first time. "Nothing." She dashed her hand against her eyes, before she settled on the floor. Momo fluttered nervously down beside Sokka, keeping his lamp-like eyes on Katara.

"Well, something's obviously wrong, Katara. What is it?" Sokka asked, biting into a strip of jerky.

"It's nothing!" Katara hissed at him, her voice cracking slightly. She let out a brief sob, before getting to her feet suddenly. "I'll be back in a bit." As she turned to leave, the water skin she had left behind split, the clear liquid spilling across the floor. Moments later, the water began to trickle upwards, following Katara as she began to run from the fire.

Zuko slammed his flaming fist through the rock, feeling it splinter around his hand. He smiled slightly, glad to have his firebending back. He stood on the cliff top, looking down to the valley below.

A loud crack and a thud caught his attention from behind and, spinning around, he found himself having to throw his body to the side to avoid the huge tree that was plummeting towards the ground.

"Hey!" he called out, forgetting that it could possibly be an enemy.

There was a shriek of fury that erupted form within the forest, and the sound of splintering wood met his ears, and once again he had to vault out of the way in order to avoid yet another tree.

A bolt of almost glowing water shot from the forest into another tree only a few feet away from Zuko, who shouted indignantly once again. Katara burst from the forest after the water, raising her crossed arms up above her, before she swung them down in a wide arc, and the water in the tree shot out, bringing the tree down.

Zuko watched as she slammed the water into the fallen tree repeatedly, the skin on her face red and angry with tear, before she collapsed to her knees, sobbing harshly into her hands. He raised his eyebrow as she began to keen loudly, the sound slightly muffled through her hands.

"Katara?" he asked softly, slightly terrified that if he got too close she'd attack. Nothing. He tried again, slightly louder, and her sobs began to die down a bit.

He took a few steps forwards as she began to quieten, and was by her side when she had fallen silent, her chest still heaving occasionally.

"Katara," he whispered, unsure of what to do. Should he hug her? Should he give her advice on her problem? He was no good with advice. That was Uncle's area.

She looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and tired. "I don't love Aang," she told me.

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say to her. So what if she doesn't love the Avatar. "And...?"

She let out another sob, but no more tears fell from her eyes. "He loves me. But I don't love him."

What's the problem?

Katara looked up at Zuko and, noting the confused expression on his face, she wiped her eyes and explained. "I thought for the longest time that we could be happy. All of us together. But then he had to go and say he loves me, and now everything between us is going to be different, and we'll never be the same again," she sobbed. Zuko blinked at her. "What...can I do?" he asked.  
She looked up at him, her eyes half lidded and raw. "Kiss me." She leaned forwards, and he leaned back, moving away from her.

"What?" he hissed at her, holding back her hands as she reached up towards his face."I can't do that."

Katara sniffed slightly, clenching her fists above Zuko's grasp. "Why not? I've seen the way you look at me sometimes," she said, her eyes brimming slightly yet again. Zuko wasn't a fan of crying girls. Maybe he should kiss her to stop her from crying.

"I know you want me," she whispered softly to him. "Maybe I want you too."  
He loosened his grip on her right wrist, and she reached her hand forwards, moving closer, until her hand was on the scarred side of his face, stroking it gently, letting the tightened skin slip beneath her fingers.

Zuko was suddenly acutely aware of the breeze around them, and the moon in the sky over head. He could feel, as if he'd never noticed it before, his heartbeat in his chest and his ears. Her left hand had made it's way to her shoulder, and her knees were pressed gently against his. Her eyes, beyond the red and tears, were immensely beautiful, and for the first time he noticed her full lips, parted slightly.

She was so different to Mai. She was actually touching his scarred face without revulsion, and she wasn't forceful or domineering. She was gentle and calm. And she made him feel...unconfused. He briefly though how strange it was that one girl could do all of this, before every thought fled from him as he leaned down and kissed her softly, almost against his will. After a brief moment, he pulled back, moving one of is hands to cup her face, and the other to her back, pulling her closer to him. She tasted of fresh fruit and the purity of water.

He let almost everything in him that was trying to tell him to stop go, and pulled her in to kiss him again.

Katara awoke the next morning warm, and with a heavy weight across her waist. She opened her eyes and rolled over, finding herself face to face with a peacefully sleeping Zuko. She smiled slightly as her memories of the previous evening returned to her.  
Of course she felt bad about snubbing Aang. But it was true, she didn't love him. She had gone searching for someone in her time of need, and Zuko, who she had to admit was quite attractive, was there. And it had been wonderful.

She leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, on is nose, on his lips, as he woke up. He smiled as he opened his eyes and saw her lying there.

"Good morning," he whispered to her.

"Good morning," she replied before she leaned in to kiss him again. "Last night..." she started.

Zuko smiled happily. "Was wonderful." He then frowned. "Don't you think you should speak to Aang?"

Katara frowned slightly, and stopped the trail of kisses she was making down his jaw line. "I probably should." Katarapushed him over so as he was laying on his back, and smiled down at him. "Not just yet though."

It was an hour later before Katara found Aang, sitting disconsolate on top of Appa. He didn't look as though he had slept the night before, and his clothes were dishevelled. She and Zuko had made their way down the cliff face a few minutes before, and she had wandered over to the flying bison after saying good morning to everyone. Toph had also looked as if she hadn't slept the night before.

"Aang," she started softly.

"Save it Katara," he said, sliding down the side of Appa's head and walking past her.

"I'm so sorry Aang. I didn't mean for it to happen that way. That's not how I wanted to let you know," she told him, her voice rising slightly as he got further away.

"That you were sleeping with Zuko, or that you didn't love me?" he snapped, turning on her suddenly. She took a cautionary step back, worried that he could turn on her any second, love or no.

"Zuko...has nothing to do with this," she said loudly. "My feelings for him and my feelings for you are totally unrelated." How on earth had Aang found out?

"I just wish you'd told me sooner," he snapped, before he slammed his staff on the ground. "Maybe then I wouldn't have been so hurt." He turned from her and launched himself into the air, leaving her once again.

"Zuko?!"

Katara turned to see her brother standing with his boomerang in is hand, ready to throw it at any second. From behind him she heard Toph's annoyingly loud voice.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear them too, Sokka," Toph said, scowling as best she could at Katara. "They were all like crying and laughing and moaning all night long. Not to mention there was a hell of a lot of banging."

Sokka paled significantly. "Banging?"

Toph grinned maliciously at Katara, who whimpered slightly under the gaze of her fuming brother, and slammed her fist into the stone pillar next to her rhythmically. "'Don't stop, Zuko! That's so good, Zuko! Zuko!'" she moaned theatrically, imitating Katara's voice perfectly. Katara's face turned crimson with embarrasment.

Sokka threw his boomerang into the ground and stalked off towards the central fire, where Zuko was humming happily to himself as he took some food.

"Your head is mine, Jerkbender."

"Toph!" Katara shrieked as she ran to save Zuko from her terrifying brother.


End file.
